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Chase Burns, Wake Forest RHP and former Tennessee pitcher, selected in MLB Draft
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Chase Burns, a right-hand pitcher out of Wake Forest with a power fastball, did not have to wait long to hear his name called at the 2024 MLB Draft. In fact, the former Tennessee star is the first player with ties to the SEC to come off the board Sunday night.
The Cincinnati Reds made the decision to grab Burns with the No. 2 overall pick, adding the player who set Wake Forest’s single-season strikeout record this spring. Oregon State infielder Travis Bazzana went No. 1 overall to the Cleveland Guardians.
With the 2nd pick in the 2024 #MLBDraft, the Cincinnati Reds select RHP Chase Burns.
Welcome to Reds Country, Chase‼️ pic.twitter.com/qJPE0BOA10
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) July 14, 2024
Burns has an electric fastball and a wipeout slider in his repertoire but the rest of his arsenal will need some refining in the minor leagues. He pitched 100 innings with a 2.70 ERA and 191 strikeouts for Wake Forest this past season with a 10-1 record.
For his career, Burns went 23-6 with 51 appearances (38 starts) across Wake Forest and Tennessee. He has a 3.57 career ERA with 408 strikeouts and 37 HRs surrendered in 252.1 innings pitched.
While top-tier power hitters Charlie Condon and Jac Caglianone were still available at No. 2 overall, pitching is always a need for teams across MLB. Couple that with the way Paul Skenes has taken the league by storm this season and it’s easy to see why the Reds were swayed into the selection.
Granted, Burns needs much more polishing than Skenes needed coming out of LSU, but that doesn’t change his ultimate ceiling in Cincinnati.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
